Customer service skills

Several strategies will help improve basic customer service skills:

- Address someone (whether a CEO or receptionis) as "Mr." or "Ms." until they give you permission to call them by their first names.

- Work with -- or acknowledge -- the gatekeeper. Finding a decision maker often requires talking to several people, including a secretary or "gate keeper" who has tried to keep us out.

- Have telephone sales and service people put a small mirror on their desk with the word "smile" above it as a way to remind them to smile even on the phone.

- Encourage employees to use plain English, instead of company or industry jargon, when dealing with new customers.

- Ask employees to write outlines of sales pitches and responses to customer service issues. Not a telemarketing script, but a guide to help people remember all the key points that must be addressed for each customer contact.

- Find non-threatening ways to quiz staff on product or service knowledge.